Centrepoint Parkade is located in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. It borders Hargrave Street, covering almost the entire block between Portage and Ellice Avenue, and Hargrave and Donald.

Centrepoint Parkade has just over 400 stalls on five levels of parking, and includes monthly and casual parking for visitors and residents. The structure supports new office space, the Alt Hotel Tower, the Glass House Apartments, and the Winnipeg Jets hockey arena, as well as nearby restaurants.

This total precast structure boasts over 500 pieces of precast prestressed concrete used over 130,000 square feet of double tees, with a unique gray acid etch spandrel on two elevations. Production began in early 2014 in Wells Concrete’s Grand Forks and Albany plants, and the project was completed in 2015.

The primary architectural features are the load-bearing spandrels on the north and west elevations. The architect wanted a black finish with a revealing pattern. This was accomplished using black sand and coarse aggregate, and gray cement with a charcoal tint. The spandrels were acid etched when cast and then washed in place.

The design of the modern parking garage and the selection of the material must give the project a sense of presence within the urban context while being sensitive to the color and material palette of the neighboring culture. Wells Concrete collaborated early in the process with the design and construction team, all located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, This was done prior to selection for insight on the architectural aspects of the precast concrete.

The result of this hard work and collaboration is a visually pleasing, practical, durable and resilient parkade that will be useful to visitors and residents looking to spend time exploring and experiencing Winnipeg’s downtown core.